Video: Israel, West Bank celebrate homecoming

Transcript of: Israel, West Bank celebrate homecoming

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:Now to the big news out of the
Middle East
today. It was a prisoner swap, one man for a thousand others.
Gilad Shalit
, an Israeli soldier captured by
Hamas
and held captive for five years, was exchanged today for a thousand Palestinian prisoners who have spent years in Israeli jails. While there were joyous welcomes for those released, the questions about this deal started almost immediately. We get our report tonight from
NBC
's
Ayman Mohyeldin
.

AYMAN MOHYELDIN reporting:Corporal
Gilad Shalit
returned home to
Israel
a
national hero
, saluted by his country's leadership, welcomed by friends and neighbors, embraced by family. His first words as a free man came even before he was back on Israeli soil, in an interview on state
TV inEgypt
, the country that brokered today's release.

Mr. GILAD SHALIT:

MOHYELDIN:Israel
is a nation where every man and woman serves in the military, a society that promises to leave no soldier behind, and
Shalit
's freedom had become a national obsession, starting with his capture by Palestinian fighters five years ago when he was a frail 19-year-old conscript. But some in
Israel
say his release came at a very high price. In return,
Israel
promised to release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving time for terrorism and murder. Four hundred and seventy-seven were freed today and the streets of
Gaza
were filled with tens of thousands of joyful Palestinians eager to welcome them home. There were emotional homecomings in the
West Bank
as well. Among them,
Qahira Saadi
, who was serving a life sentence in
Israel
. She got a hero's welcome of her own.
Shalit
's captors,
Hamas
, called today's release a victory for the Palestinian struggle and vowed to capture more Israeli soldiers in order to secure the release of the more than 5,000 prisoners still in Israeli jails. But
Israel
is celebrating today, too. An overwhelming majority of Israelis support the swap even if some are worried it may encourage more attacks. As both sides celebrated today, clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers in the
West Bank
served as a painful reminder peace is no closer than it was when
Shalit
was first captured. Now, that interview
Gilad Shalit
gave with
Egyptian television
was not part of the deal,
Brian
, and certainly caused a -- quite a bit of controversy in
Israel
. But the world is really interested in hearing what he has to say.

WILLIAMS:And we want to welcome you, by the way, to our family.
Ayman
, for our viewers just joining us, is a native and a veteran of the region. Great to have you. Thanks for your reporting.